I lost my internet connection just as I was getting ready to post this. So I’m going to try to post it using my phone.
Hopefully you’ll get this, but I can’t promise everything will post correctly or no errors will get through.
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Evidently, not everyone is in favor of the Better Overland Project.
The plan to build a Complete Street and protected bike lanes on the lower section of Overland Avenue has drawn its share of detractors to a Facebook group calling to “SAVE Overland Ave in Culver CIty.”
Even though that’s exactly what proponents are trying to do. Apparently, they don’t grasp the concept that drivers and local residents, including older people, benefit from safer streets, too.
Then again, the group only has a measly 215 members right now. So maybe instead of torches and pitchforks, it’s just matches and spades this time.
Thanks to Adrian for the heads-up.
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Thanks to Andrew for forwarding news on Bluesky that West Hollywood will become the latest Southern California city to offer its own ebike incentive program, with eligible residents able to claim up to $2,000 towards one.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles joins California in continuing to offer eligible residents absolutely nothing.
Unfortunately, Bluesky seems to be having yet another of their recent service outages, so you may have to just take my word for it, unless the post below miraculously shows up, or the above link actually works. Otherwise, I’ll try again tomorrow.
https://bsky.app/profile/solomonweho.bsky.social/post/3mjzewlcrkk2f
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KTLA-5 continues to insist that Angel Roman Mendoza Lopez, the 13-year old boy killed by a driver in Pomona last week, was riding an ebike, even though other sources say he was riding an e-scooter.
Although it’s possible he was on a sit-down scooter, which would make both kinda right.
Meanwhile, the crowdfunding campaign to benefit his family has now raised over $16,000, while the goal has been increase to $25,000.
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A Belgian short track skater and amateur cyclist shares video of a 45-minute line waiting to ride up a climb in last weekend’s Amstel Gold sportive, making it look more like an amusement park than a bike race.
But at least you didn’t have to be “this tall to ride this ride.”
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Local
Metro is offering free transit and bikeshare ride to mark today’s Earth Day. Or as it’s known in most of Los Angeles, Wednesday.
LAist looks at the city’s plans for a “low-stress” walking and biking route for Koreatown and Pico Union in time for the ’28 Olympics.
Streetsblog reminds us about Sunday’s West LA CicLAvia, the popular open streets event’s first visit to Westwood.
The Pasadena Transportation Advisory Commission will receive an informational presentation on Pasadena Bike Month at their Thursday meeting, with events ranging from a beginner’s bagel ride to an ebike expo at the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, that deafening silence you hear is the plans for Bike Month in Los Angeles.
State
Singletracks highlights the most amazing and/or weird mountain bike components and accessories from Monterey’s Sea Otter Classic. Including one device that looks like something the bomb squad would disable.
Two people in their late teens suffered non-life threatening injuries when a Daly City cop struck the ebike they were sharing. Although it’s kind of refreshing that the cops didn’t immediately blame the victims, for a change.
National
Thanks, Donald. German ebike and cargo bikemaker Riese & Müller announced it’s pulling out of the US due to market volatility caused by the constantly changing tariffs, including a 50% tariff on steel.
Honolulu bicyclists complain that it’s taking too long to replace curbing, bike lane delineators and green paint marking a two-way separated bike lane after the street was repaved.
A review of Seattle’s Vision Zero plan shows the city still isn’t making enough safety improvements, and hasn’t done enough to improve safety on the the streets with the highest rates of serious injuries and deaths for pedestrians and bike riders.
That’s more like it. Sheriff’s deputies made an arrest four-and-a-half years after a 29-year old man riding a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown, continuing to investigate until they had enough evidence to get an arrest warrant; the suspect was booked on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and insurance fraud. Seriously, when was the last time you heard of LA cops or sheriff’s deputies arresting a hit-and-run suspect after four-and-a-half months, let alone four-and-a-half years?
An op-ed from a Louisville KY bicyclist and triathlete says that bike riders in the city don’t want “more ill-conceived bike lanes,” insisting that what they really want is for drivers to share the road and pass safely, while bike riders need to obey the law and pull over to let long lines of cars pass them. Except there’s a 100-year plus track record showing too many drivers are incapable of sharing the road safely, which is exactly why we need bike lanes.
A Pittsburgh bike group tells locals and out-of-towners to forget the car, and ride a bike to this week’s NFL Draft.
DC bike riders will still have a safe route connecting downtown Washington to the Tidal Basin, after a judge issued a 61-page opinion putting a hold on plans to rip out a separated bike lane and require the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration to conduct a more thorough review of the Trump administration’s plans to make the tourist-heavy area more accommodating to drivers.
Life is cheap in North Carolina, where the grandson of legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was charged with misdemeanor DUI after killing a 15-year old boy riding a bicycle; evidently, drunk driving runs in the family. Something is seriously wrong when killing another human being while drunk, let alone a kid, doesn’t even merit a felony charge.
International
Bike Radar ranks the best bicycles of the 1990s, all of which are road bikes, and most of which even look like one.
No surprise here, as a study in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation suggests that bicycling is an effective way to cope with fluctuating gas prices.
Londoners will once again turn to their bicycles as Tube drivers go on strike for four days.
A new study from the European Transport Safety Council says too many people are still getting killed on bicycles in the European Union, but that slower streets and protected bike lanes could help lower to toll.
An Indian man spent the last seven years riding across the vast country, planting saplings and trying to connect with everyone he met to call attention to looming threats to the environment.
No bias here. An Australian ad announcing the country is now at Level Two of the ‘National Fuel Security Plan’ due to the fuel crisis fueled by the war in Iran devotes a whole 1.5 seconds to using a bicycle, and the other 28.5 seconds to using your car more wisely, instead of not using it at all.
Competitive Cycling
Two-time Belgian Olympic speed skater Sandrine Tas will make her professional cycling debut with the Lotto Intermarché Ladies cycling team at today’s La Flèche Wallonne Femmes.
Finally…
That feeling when it costs the equivalent of a 27¢ toll to ride where bikes aren’t even allowed. Your next ebike could have no gears and ride in reverse. Who says you have to carbo load before you ride?
And probably not the best idea to steal a police bike during the Boston Marathon.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
